Absolution
by cultnirvana
Summary: COMPLETE! Sequel to 'Why' Aya Ketchum, now 10, is ready to set out upon her Pokemon journey. However, before she leaves, a revelation from the past comes back to haunt her family.
1. Prologue

_Okay, I've had this fic almost finished for a little while, and, thanks to being off from work this week (though my attention keeps getting seiged by too many new Pokemon eps [May and Max are sweeties, but I miss Misty so much!!!] and Halloween Buffy episodes), and having a few probs with 'Resolutions' (the sequel to 'Let Love Be Your Energy'. It's over 40,000 words at the mo. YAY!), I decided to force myself to write the last few scenes and upload a chapter each weekend._

_I know a lot of people have been asking for a sequel to 'Why?' since I finished it and here it is. A few years later with me much older, hehe. I still find it hard to deal with the whole '20' thing and I'm 21 soon, eek. __This fic mainly deals with little Aya when she is ten, as well as at age 18. _

_A loud-shout-out to Anysia, my newest pal. Love the emails and can't wait for a new chapter of 'Tempory Ceasefire'!!!! Oh, fluffy, angsty stuff is such fun. Love you guys._

* * *

**_Prologue _**

* * *

_**Aya Ketchum's Journal**_

**_19th September, 2040_**

'I really don't know why I decided to write all this stuff down now.

'It has been eight years since I found out the truth, after all. I guess maybe it's because of what happened yesterday. My life will totally change from this day forth, and perhaps I just want to get everything sorted in my mind before I begin this new journey. It could also be that now I'm eighteen I'm an adult, all grown up. The little Aya Ketchum must now make way for her mature form. And what better way to help this transition than to resolve that last lose end from my old life.

'I've had this journal since the beginning of my Pokemon journey, given to me by my mother the day I left home at the age of ten. She thought it would be as essential to me as anything else I could possibly take with me. I can recite every word of hers to me that morning like it was just yesterday. It has been locked up in this brain of mind for so long, and I hope it never fades. It has given me true inspiration.

_'"You will have so many adventures and go through so many emotions in the years to come that it will be hard for you to remember every single important detail," _she told me, as she pulled the leather-bound book from behind her back. _"That's what this is for, so that when you're older you can look back and remember these days with perfect clarity. Believe me, that's the best gift you could give to your older self. These will probably be the most vital years of your life, and they must be cherished." _

'I embrace every word of that as truth. She kept one just like it through her journeys and I can remember always begging her to read it to me as a child. Even now, when I go home, I often read it for myself, or sometimes sit with her as we go through the old journal. When she reads it, I can see the feelings it raises within her plain as day. Especially when she speaks of her early feelings for my father within those yellowed pages. She blushes at the way she used to think of him, how near the beginning she tells of how much she couldn't stand him, and of how infantile he was. Every page for the first few months has the words 'my bike' adorning them at least twice, often punctuated with an exclamation mark for good measure. I always find myself laughing at that. However then, shortly after, comes the slight crush she had for him, to the full-blown feelings of love, tinted with the fear of rejection. It also describes in detail their admission to one another of their true feelings, and the wonderful first year they spent together.

'But the entries stop suddenly shortly after that point. As a little girl, she never would tell me the truth behind why she finished with her accounts, just telling me that when she became pregnant with me, she decided that it wasn't important any longer. It was the end of her travelling days and she felt that it was time to put the journal to bed. I could never have imagined then what the true reason was, of the pain she went through that prevented her ability to continue her writings.

'I guess that is perhaps yet another reason why I have chosen to mark this all down on paper now. I have achieved my dream, am at the end of my travels, and coming to the last few pages of this now well-beaten book. What would be more fitting than to complete the journal my mother gave to me than to explain the events surrounding the abrupt end of hers?

'I always thought that everything in my life was perfect. I knew that my parents were young when I was born (my father was only eighteen and my mother barely twenty), that I was not planned, but they always told me that despite all of that, they were ecstatic at the news and wanted to do everything that they could to make a good life for me. They told me of the sacrifices they had to make, of the fact that they had to give up their travelling and find an apartment they could afford. My father took on another job along with his training and my mother helped at the local Pokemon Centre, hoping that when I was a little older she could train to qualify as a Pokemon Doctor. I never even considered the possibility they could be lying to me. I trusted them with all my being.

'I was two and a half when they married, but I never truly knew the reason for the delay. I guess I always assumed that maybe they weren't ready, that they had other things to sort out before taking such a leap, or perhaps that they just couldn't afford it, but I wouldn't have thought that it could be something like...that. The earliest memory I have is of my parent's wedding, a day that is joyously held in the forefront of my memory.

'My childhood was always incredibly happy. Shortly after my parents were married, after my mum qualified as a Pokemon doctor, we moved to my dad's hometown, Pallet. We lived with my nana for a little while, until my parents could save up enough money to put a down-payment on a house. I can always remember her spoiling me when I was a child, showering me with toys or candy, just like I'm sure she always did with my dad. She has such a sweet heart despite all of the hardships she has suffered in her life. She loves kids. She told me she always dreamed of having more than one, but when my grandfather walked out on her and my father, she gave up that dream. Maybe that is one reason why she tended to indulge her family so much. I really think it almost broke her heart when we moved out, despite the fact we moved to a house barely a five-minute walk away.

'After years of both working at Professor Oak's laboratory (to help pay the mortgage and other family expenditures) and training every second he could, my dad finally achieved his life-long dream, becoming a Pokemon Master when I was six. A year later my mum gave birth to Kai, my little brother, something they had been desperately trying for for years.

'Everything seemed to be going perfectly for our family. We had a beautiful house, in a peaceful little town, and my parents had almost completed work upon their own Pokemon gym. We wanted for nothing, and I thought nothing could change that.

'But then, everything you believe in can be shattered in a matter of a day.'

* * *

_Also, if any of you guy are interested, check out my web sites, one Pokemon, one general anime and manga;_

_Golden Smile, Silver Tears - pokemon.raging.otaku .com  
Raging Otaku - raging.otaku .com_


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

* * *

Misty fell upon the couch, placing her weary head upon her husband's shoulder. It had been such a long and exhausting day. She had been on her feet for hours, running around treating injured Pokemon, arranging rooms for the night for trainers, and cataloguing all the medicines to see what was needed to be ordered. Then there was the hour drive home to top it all off. She couldn't wait until the Pallet gym was finally finished. Then, at least, she wouldn't have to travel to and from Viridian every day, even if it did perhaps mean a little more work overall. But, then again, it was much more pleasurable to work for yourself in a place that you helped create.

"You okay, Mist?" Ash asked.

She yawned, closing her eyes for a moment. The call of sleep seemed to be beckoning her, but she forced her eyes open once more, desperately wishing to give in, but knowing she couldn't. "Yeah. Just been a tiring day." She turned her attention to her three-year-old son, sucking his little thumb, cradled in his father's arms. She gently brushed a few strands of his reddish-brown hair from his forehead. He was so adorable. Just looking at him made her forget her hard day and smile. "How long has he been asleep?"

"Only about twenty minutes. I was about to put him up into bed for his nap."

"I'll put him up." She took Kai lightly into her arms, trying not to wake him. "Where's Aya?"

"Oh, she's up in her room doing some homework."

"I'll go say hello as well, then." As she turned to the stairs she looked back at Ash and gave him an awkward smile. "Will you cook dinner? I know it's my night, but I'm really exhausted," she pleaded.

Ash sighed. "I guess...but what are you going to do in return?" He asked, giving her one of his trademark cheeky grins.

"I'll show you later," she answered in the same tone before continuing up the stairs. As she climbed she felt Kai stir in her arms, then lift his head to look up at her with his big brown eyes.

"Mama," she heard him utter.

She smiled again. Both of their children had that effect upon Ash and Misty. The slightest thing they did could melt their hearts. "Yes, honey?"

"I'm 'ungry."

"I know, sweetie. Daddy's going to make dinner soon, but now it's time for your nap. I'll come up and get you when it's ready."

Kai rubbed at his sleepy orbs, but spoke with an excitement his fatigued body seemed almost incapable of. "Can we have pizza?"

Misty shook her head. "We had pizza last night. Don't you want something else?"

"I like pizza." To him, his reasoning seemed flawless. What other possible reason could there be to eat pizza? It didn't matter to him the fact that they had had it as their last meal. If he liked something, why couldn't he have it every day?

_The naivety of youth, _ she thought. It made her chuckle, and caused her smile to widen even more. "You sound more like your dad everyday," she said, almost to herself.

"Eh?"

"Never mind." She opened the door to his room and laid him down in his bed, kissing him on the forehead. "See you after your nap."

"Love you, mama."

"Love you too, Kai." She pulled the quilt over him and began to leave the room, but not before looking back at him. He was already fast asleep. Misty chuckled again. "Definitely just like your father." She quietly closed the door and continued into Aya's room.

She regarded her daughter from the threshold, sitting at her desk, busied with schoolwork. Aya had inherited her mother's intelligence full-fold. She was first in every class at school, whether it be Mathematics or Art, but her true passion was never with her schooling. All Aya could think of was beginning her Pokemon journey, and now, just a month over ten years old, that thought occupied her mind more and more with every passing second.

Her parents had begged her to hold off starting her Pokemon journey and stay in school for a few more years, but Aya's zeal was so strong that she refused to do so, and Ash and Misty were not going to stop her from following her dreams, no matter how much they knew they were going to miss her.

"Hi, Aya."

At her mother's hello, Aya jumped slightly. She hadn't even heard her mother walk into her room, she was so focused upon her homework. She instantly turned from it, greeting her mother with a happy grin. "Hey, mum. I didn't know you were home."

"I just got back." Misty walked over to her and looked down upon the desk. Countless framed photographs littered it. Ones of Misty and Ash when they weren't that much older than their daughter, others of Aya as a little baby, and several of the whole family together. And then, one displayed near the centre of the others, taken on the day of the wedding. She had told her mother that she kept them where she could always see them, so that she would always have those she loved near her.

Misty turned her attention to the book Aya was writing in. "So, what homework do you have tonight?"

"English. I have to write an essay about my idol," she spoke nervously.

"So, who did you choose?" Misty asked. She always made sure she kept abreast of her schoolwork.

Aya began to blush. "Ah...I actually chose you, mum."

"Me?" Now it was time for Misty's cheeks to redden. "Oh, Aya. That's so sweet."

"Do you wanna read it?"

"Of course, honey." Misty picked up the book, and began to read.

_My idol is my mother, Misty Williams. _

Misty laughed at that. Her daughter seemed to be so proud of her mother for keeping her maiden name after she married. Aya was becoming a real feminist, just like her.

_She is not only a great water Pokemon trainer, but a brilliant Pokemon doctor. She helps my dad, the Pokemon Master, with his Pokemon, and works at the Viridian City Pokemon Centre with the help of several Chanseys and Blisseys. Soon, she will open and run a Centre here in Pallet. She also takes great care of both me and my three-year-old little brother, Kai._

_When she was only ten, she became a gym leader, along with my three aunts, Daisy, Violet and Lily, and helped run the gym, even taking part in underwater ballets, for almost two years before she left on her Pokemon journey. Shortly after, she met my dad, and they've been together ever since._

_'...together ever since,' _Misty repeated in her mind. She swallowed heavily at those few words, pushing off the shame that was creeping up on her, the same feeling that had followed her for so many years.

_I really admire my mother because she is smart, has a great career, but always makes sure she has plenty of time to spend with our family. I hope that when I grow up, I can be as successful and happy as my mum. _

Aya stared up at her mother with those large aqua eyes, studying her every expression as she read, hoping that her mum would like it. When she noticed that she had finished reading, she told her mother, "It isn't finished yet. There's a few more thing I want to add. Do you think it's okay so far?"

Misty looked away from the book, tears noticeable in her eyes. "It's great, Aya."

"Thanks, mum. If it's good enough, I may get to read it in front of the whole class."

Misty put the book back down upon the desk, and began to play with Aya's short, black hair. "I'm sure you will. You usually do. And you know how proud your dad and I are of you?"

She blushed again. "Yeah, mum."

"And you know how much we and Kai are going to miss you when you leave in two months?"

"I know. I'll miss you guys, too. But I'll make sure to call home every week, and to call nana as well." Aya stood from her chair, and gave her mother a hug.

Misty returned the hug. "I know you will. I trust you."

Misty entered the kitchen, walking over to her husband who stood at the stove, putting her arms around him. She rested her drowsy head upon his shoulder. "We have two wonderful kids."

He turned from the pot of pasta he was cooking, and gave his wife a quick kiss on the lips. "I know, Misty."

"It's hard to think that we may never have had this life after what I did."

Ash, worried by her melancholic words, forgot about dinner and pulled Misty into his arms. Her previously joyful expression had been replaced by a dejected demeanour. He put a finger upon her chin, and raised her head so that she was looking straight into his face. "Misty. It doesn't matter what happened in the past, and what could have been if we had made a different decision. What is important is that we are married and have two beautiful kids. Nothing else, and you have to remember that. You need to stop punishing yourself."

Misty grinned, reassured by his words. "I know, and I'm sorry. It's just that sometimes I feel that I don't deserve this life."

"You do, believe me."

Overwhelmed by his words, she pulled herself closer to him. "I love you so much, Ash."

"I love you, too." They just stared at each other quietly for a moment, before Ash asked, "Did you make an appointment for the doctor?"

"Yep, for Thursday, after work."

"Great. I can't wait to see if our little suspicion is right," he whispered, excitedly. Ash kissed her again, holding it a little longer than before.

"Can't you guys leave each other alone for five minutes?" Aya joked as she came into the room. "You're always sucking face."

While Ash blushed a little, Misty quipped back. "Well, that's what married couples do, and we aren't going to stop it anytime soon, so I guess you'll just have to put up with it."

Aya smiled. In actual fact, she loved to see her parents like this, so obviously devoted to one another after nearly eight years of marriage. _I just hope I can be that happy someday._

* * *

_I hope no one was disappointed with that chapter. panics Please say you weren't. I'm sorry it's quite short. This whole fic is only about 13,000 words (a prologue, an epilogue and 5 chapters), which seems so inadequate after 30-something thousand for 'Too Far?' and over 40,000 currently for 'Resolutions', but I couldn't see anywhere I could embellish more, and it would probably have been to the detriment of the fic if I did so._

_"Can't you guys leave each other alone for five minutes?" Re-reading that line I can never hear it in the voice that I have in my mind for Aya. For some reason I keep hearing Tsubasa Shibahime from 'His and Her Circumstances' saying it (ah, Lisa Ortiz is such a great seiyuu). 12 episodes of one anime without a break isn't good for the the mind ; Especially when you have watched the first four DVDs of said series four times each already._

_Okay, enough talking. Please, please R&R. Thanks loads for reading! _


	3. Chapter 2

_Up a day early, but I'm sure no one will mind -  
  
Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far, especially to Rae8, KazOhki, Grocko and Etherelemental. I love that I've been able to entertain so many people with this little bit of angst fiction (well, the angst is really only beginning now).   
  
Once again a big thank you to Anysia for...for...well, just everything. For the brill emails, the great reviews, for constantly making me blush, for really motivating me (we motivate each other so well) and for being one of the few people I've met I can talk to about 'His and Her Circumstances'!!! If any of you guys haven't read her new fic, 'The Strength of the Soul', you have to check it out! God, girl, just by reading that I'm getting a serious urge to write something really dark myself. Well, I have plans for something very, very dark, but that's far in the future, hehe.  
  
Okay, enough of my widdling on. Buh bye. _

* * *

** Chapter Two **

* * *

Aya sat on the bench in the school playground, eating her lunch, talking to her best friend, Leanne. The weather was cheerful, and her day at school was going well. She had even gotten to read her essay out to her class, as she hoped to do.

"So, what Pokemon are you going to pick?" Leanne asked.

"I'm still not sure," she started, eating her passable chicken sandwiches. Her father wasn't the best cook in the world, but he was defiantly better than her mother. "I like them all, but I think I may pick Squirtle. I really love water Pokemon, and it'll be easy to beat Uncle Brock brother with when I get to Pewter." Aya bit into her sandwich, causing a drip of mayonnaise to land square upon her red tie. She looked down at her neat black uniform. "Oh, darn. My dad's gonna kill me. He just washed this."

As she cleaned the mayonnaise from her tie, a dark shadow came to rest upon her, blocking out the sun. Aya looked up to see whom it belonged to. Chris, the typical school bully; a little beefy, with a loosened tie around his neck and scuff marks on his elbows and knees. He seemed to have made Aya his pet project lately, as she was the only person who did not seem to be affected by his taunting. But today he looked smugger than normal.

"What do you want, Chris?" she said, her disdain evident.

"Oh, Aya," he began, sarcastically. "Your essay about your mum was so touching," he wiped a pretend tear from his eye. "You made her sound like a true saint."

She smiled. "Well, I'm sorry, but that's how I feel about her."

He tutted. "I can't believe it. How you can be so proud of your mother after what she did to you and your dad?"

Aya sighed. He would say anything to try to annoy her. "What are you talking about, Chris? I don't have the time for this."

"I'm talking about your mum walking out on him when she found out she'd gotten pregnant with you."

That hit a nerve within her. People could criticize her as much as they wished, but she would not stand for it when they involved her family. She stood up, furious that someone would even accuse her mother of such a crime. "My mum would never do that! She loves my dad! You're just trying to bully me!"

Chris' already substantial smile widened even more. Finally he had something that he could affect her with. "Well, my mum told me it's true. She said that the mother you're _so _ proud of left your dad without even telling him she was pregnant, and it took him three years to find her again. He didn't even know that you were born," he laughed.

"You're lying. I don't believe you!" she screamed. "Shut up!"

"Awww, did I hurt teacher's pet Aya Ketchum," he said in a belittling tone, but then became wholly serious. "If you want me to shut up, then make me."

That was the last straw. Aya couldn't let him get away with badmouthing her mother. She snapped and punched Chris straight in the jaw, knocking him off his feet and onto the hard ground. She had never hit anyone before, but it felt good to wipe that smile off his cubby face.

At the sound of the impact, almost every other kid in yard turned to look at the spectacle. Chris raised his hand to his wounded face, and looked up angrily at Aya. "I didn't think you had it in you, Little Miss Perfect." Then, with a speed his build looked incapable of, he jumped up and grabbed Aya by the arms, beginning to shake her, causing the other kids to cheer with excitement.

"Aya, stop it! Chris, leave her alone!" Leanne yelled.

They both began to struggle, Aya trying to stop him from hitting her, but she failed. With a smack that she was so sure was stronger than hers, it was her turn to fall to the pavement.

* * *

"Aya, I can't believe this," her mother began. "You getting into a fight in school. You've never done anything like this before. I thought we taught you better than that."

She slowly raised her head, but the look of shame in her parent's faces made her look again at the carpet. "I'm sorry, but you also told me to stand up for what I believe in," she put nervously.

"What?" Ash asked, confused.

"I was standing up for mum. Chris was saying really bad things about her."

Ash and Misty looked at each other. Why would this boy be talking about Misty? It couldn't be... "What was he saying, sweetie?" Ash asked.

Aya, thinking back to Chris' words, felt tears begin to roll down her cheeks. Forgetting their anger, Ash and Misty pulled their daughter into their arms, setting her in between them on the sofa. Aya just sat for a few moments, crying into Ash's shoulder, before she could begin talking again. "He...he said that mummy...didn't tell you when she was pregnant with me. That...that she left you and you didn't...see her again for three years, and...and that you didn't know about me," she said looking up at her father, before she turned to her mother. Both of them looked shocked at her revelation, and almost had a aspect of panic on their faces. "But I know you wouldn't do that, mummy. Why would you? You love daddy." She buried her head in her mother's lap. "Why would he say such horrible things?"

Ash and Misty looked at each other, dismayed at what their daughter had said. 'We have to tell her,' Misty mouthed to him, not wanting Aya to hear her words, tears beginning to cloud her eyes.

'No. I don't want her to know.' Ash looked down at his daughter, pulled her from her mother's lap so she could see his face. "Aya, don't worry. None of this is true. He just made it all up," he said, gently combing his fingers through her hair.

She stopped her sniffles, and her expression became one of annoyance. "He just said it to hurt me. I really hate Chris."

* * *

Aya put her pencil down. She wasn't in the mood for homework right now. She walked from her room into the hall, planning to walk down to the kitchen for a drink of juice, but she stopped when she heard voices coming from her parent's bedroom. She stopped outside their room, looking in, past the ajar door, to see her father with her mother in his arms.

"Ash, I want to tell her. It's not fair to keep the truth from her. She has a right to know."

"We agreed eight years ago to keep this secret. We promised."

"But other people do know about what I did. It's not a national secret. I'd rather her hear it from us that some damn bully."

"Misty, I won't tell her," Ash said firmly. He leant down and kissed her on the forehead. "I don't want to hurt her. She doesn't need to know."

Giving up, she agreed with him. "Okay." They kissed each other quickly on the lips before starting for the door.

Aya, noticing their movements, ran back to her room, slowly closing the door behind her. She stood there for a moment, unsure what to think. What would her parent's not want her to know? Was it about what Chris had said? No, it couldn't be. How could that be true?

She walked to her desk and pulled out the top drawer, searching under the countless pieces of paper for her birth certificate. There, at the bottom, she found it, and slowly unfolded the document. Scanning it she looked at the section for father's name. And there it said, as she suspected, Ash Ketchum. Maybe she had been right. Her mother would never do that. She was stupid to even consider that what Chris had told her was true. She placed the birth certificate back into the drawer and sat back in her chair, breathing a sigh of relief.

Casting her eyes in front of her, she looked at the collection of photographs she had. She picked up the one taken mere hours after her birth, her sleeping in her mother's arms. She looked into her mother's beautiful face. She was smiling, but Aya could tell there was a melancholy aspect to her expression. She could always read her like a book. Why did she look so sad when she always told Aya that it was one of the three best days of her life (the other two being the wedding and the day Kai was born)?

She looked at the other pictures of her as a little girl. There were several others where she was with her mother, between the ages of a few months and about two years, one with her aunts and another with a couple of friends. She looked at the other pictures, looking for the ones where she was with her father. First she came to the picture of the three of them at the wedding, and then to one with her father hugging her on the day he became a Pokemon Master. The next was of their whole family, taken when Kai was only a baby.

But why was the earliest picture she had on display of her father and her the one taken on her parent's wedding day? That was when she was two and a half years old. She had several of her and her mother, and of other people, from before then, so why not of her father?

She left her room again, making sure no one was in the hallway, and entered her parent's room. She opened their closet doors and looked for the family photo albums that were always kept there. She picked up the one entitled 'Aya Ketchum' and opened it at the first page. There were a few photos of her mother while she was pregnant with her, and several taken shortly after her birth, whether they were taken in the hospital or in the small apartment they used to live in. But again, her father was in none of them. She flicked the pages, one by one, scanning each picture they showed, but she didn't come across any of her and her father until she was about two and a half years old.

She put down her album and looked at the one that belonged to her parents. The first couple of pages contained photographs of her parents as teenagers, during their several years of travelling, including several taken after they had began dating. She turned the page and saw a few more wedding pictures.

Wait.

She turned back the page, checking in case she had skipped a few leaves of the book...but she hadn't. The photographs went from her parent's being in their late teens, when they were dating, to over three years later and their wedding. Where did the pictures go from between that period? Her parent's were almost fanatical about recording their lives with photographs. It wasn't like them to leave such a gap.

"Aya, dinner!" her mother called up the stairs.

She quickly put the photo albums back into place, closing the closet doors, and ran from her parent's room. Lending over the banister, she shouted back, "Coming!"

* * *

_Another day, another chapter. Next one will up be next week as normal. Please R&R! Thanks!   
  
Ja ne! _


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

* * *

Aya pushed her food absentmindedly around the plate with her fork, not really feeling hungry. There were too many things on her mind. It couldn't be true. It wasn't true! There had to be another reason why her father was in none of the photographs taken before the wedding.

Ash noticed his daughter's unrest. "Aya, you okay?"

She looked up at him, displaying a spurious grin, and ate a forkful of her dinner. "Yeah, dad." She brought her attention back to her plate and the matter at hand. There must be a good explanation for this, but she was too afraid to just come out and ask. Maybe if she approached the subject slowly. Taking a deep breath, she began, "Dad?"

"Yes, honey?"

"I was looking at some of my photos, but there wasn't any of you in the hospital when I was born. Where were you?" she asked, desperately trying to hide the tears that were threatening.

At this, her parent's exchanged a panicked glace, and at the same time blurted out, "I was in the Orange Islands/Your dad was in Johto." Realising their mistakes, Ash tried to correct the situation. "Well, you see, I was...er...travelling between the Orange Islands and Johto, doing a bit of training. It was while I was away that your mum went into labour and you were born. I wasn't able to make it home for a few days."

"Oh," she replied, unconvinced. Yes, that sounded like a plausible reason, but it didn't explain why he wasn't in the other photographs either. Also, their reaction confused her. Why did they respond so strangely if they were telling the truth? She wanted to ask them about the other photographs, but her fear held her back, too scared of what could potentially be revealed.

* * *

Aya began to feel the sweet embrace of sleep drift away from her. She could feel something pushing at her, and a noise echoing in her ear, calling her name. She slowly opened her eyes to see Kai standing next to her bed, trying to wake her.

"Aya, Aya."

"What...what is it Kai?" she asked, groggily. "I'm trying to sleep."

"Mama and dadda are shouting."

"What?" She listened harder and could hear two elevated voices. Blinking the sleep from her eyes, she looked up at her clock. Seventeen minutes past two? Her parents were normally asleep by that time. She pulled herself off her bed and stepped into the hallway, holding Kai's hand. Walking to the top of the stairs, descending a few, she sat upon a step, looking down into the living room to see her parent's arguing. Her mother sat upon the sofa, in tears, and wore an almost frightened expression.

"Ash, she deserves to know the truth. And she's getting older. It's going to be really difficult to keep it from her, especially with her leaving in a few months."

"I don't want her to know, Misty!" her father nearly pleaded.

"She's our daughter," she shouted back. "We shouldn't be keeping lies from her! She should know what I did to her and to you."

Those words struck fear into Aya's heart. _What lies? _she questioned herself. _What are they hiding from me? What did she do to us? _Then her groggy mind remembered the events of the previous day; what Chris had told her, her parent's talking, the missing photographs. _No, I know she wouldn't do something like that! _her mind deined, chiding herself for even thinking that.

"No!"

"Ash?!"

"No, Misty! And that is final! I don't want to break her heart, or yours. What she doesn't know can't hurt her!" Her father only seemed to be getting angrier with every word he uttered. She had seen them fight like this a few times, and although she knew that all married couples went through the same, that fact never lessened the pain she suffered.

"She will eventually find out, and then where will we be. She almost found out from that boy."

Again, more fear rose within Aya. _That boy? Chris. _

Her father paced for a moment, his hands dragging through his longish hair, the action reflecting his distress. "No," she heard him whisper. Then, with a harsher tone he shouted, "No. No way, Misty! Yes, you left me when you found out you were pregnant, and that was a mistake, but I am not about to drag our family through this shit again!"

Aya gasped. She replayed her father's words in her head, round and round again like a broken record, hoping that somehow she had heard wrong. But no matter how much she tried, she couldn't deny the truth. All the evidence was there. She had seen it with her own eyes, and now her father's admission had just proven her suspicious correct, the suspicions she had denied so fevourently. Her mother had walked out on her father before she was even born.

She began to feel trembles echo through her body. "No," she whispered, backing away up the stairs. At her utterance, Ash and Misty turned to her, their faces betraying their shock at realising that their daughter had just heard their words.

Misty stood and began to walk towards the stairs. "Aya? I..." she started, but before she could continue, Aya ran up the stairs and into her room, slamming the door behind her. "Oh, god," Misty whispered.

Ash took her in his arms, forgetting his anger, letting her cry into his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Misty. I'm so sorry. I'm so damn stupid."

Kai still stood on the stairs, looking confusedly towards his parents. "Mama, why are you cryin'? What's 'rong?" he asked, too young to understand the situation.

Ash lifted Misty's head with a finger upon her chin, kissing her lips. "You put Kai to bed and I'll try to talk to Aya."

Misty nodded and climbed the stairs, wiping the tears from her face. "Nothing's wrong, sweetie," she told Kai, faking a smile. She lifted him up gently and kissed his forehead. "Come on, you should be in bed."

Ash followed them, walking to Aya's door. "Honey?" He said tenderly, scared of the possible response. There was no answer. "Honey? Could we talk?"

"No!" he heard her yell, her voice noticeably raw from tears.

"Please, Aya? We need to talk about this."

"No!" he heard again. "I don't want to talk to you or her!" she shouted bitterly.

Ash placed his head against the door. What was he going to do? In the space of a day their life had gone from perfect to disastrous. He didn't want Aya to know the truth. He wanted to prevent her and Misty from being hurt, and also to save himself from this agony. But now the secret was out and he had to deal with the situation he had dreaded over the past eight years.

He left Aya's door and walked into his own bedroom. Misty lay on their bed, crying into her pillow. He sat next to her, pulling her into his arms once more, feeling his own tears welling up. "Misty, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for her to find out."

Misty pulled away slightly from him, able to calm her tears. "She should know the truth, and...in a way, I'm glad she found out." Her resolve, however, broke quickly. "She now knows the type of person her mother truly is." She fell back into her husband's arms, feeling those old feelings of self-dread and hate assault her once again. "I'm such a horrible person. I hate myself so much."

Ash's heart sunk. She had done this to herself so much, punished herself for so long. It pained him terribly to see the only woman he had ever loved do this to herself. "Misty, please don't."

"But it's true, Ash. I have put our whole family through so much hell." She lifted her head off his shoulder and looked into his eyes with her swollen, raw orbs. "How can you love me, after everything I've done? I'm a terrible wife and a bad mother."

"Misty. Don't you dare say stuff like that?" he ordered, both anger and compassion in his tone.

But she did not listen to his warning. "It's the truth, Ash. What kind of person would take her own child away from it's father, and hurt those she loves so much? It doesn't matter how afraid I was. It doesn't excuse what I did. I don't deserve you, Aya or Kai. I don't deserve anything good."

The despair in her eyes was too much for him. The tears he had been holding back began to flow. He pulled her as close as possible, and whispered in her ear, "You do deserve happiness. Yes, you did something that was wrong, but I have forgiven you for it because I love you so much. And I know Aya is hurting now, but she loves you too and she will find it in her heart to forgive you. Everything will be okay, my love."

"I wish I could believe that."

He lay down with her, pulling her to lie upon his chest, and after a few moments, the emotional drama took its toll upon them, and they fell into a restless slumber.

* * *

Aya sat upon her bed, trembling with sobs.

_How...? Why...? How could this be true? _

She looked over towards her desk, focusing upon the exercise book placed upon its surface. Standing, she made her way over to it, leafing her way through the first few pages until she came to the last record.

_My idol is my mother, Misty Williams _.

She felt her anger grow reading her own words. How could she have been so wrong?

In a thoughtless moment, she grabbed the book, ripping the lined pages from the staple that bond them, then tearing them in a dozen pieces. She let them fall onto the carpet, before dropping to her knees.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

* * *

The next morning, Ash gently knocked upon Aya's door, hoping for a better response than the night before, but not expecting it. "Honey, it's time for school."

"I'm not going," his daughter shouted back.

"Come on, you have to."

"No!"

Ash sighed heavily. He couldn't make her go, especially after what had happened. She needed time to think about what was going on. "Ok, but me and mum have to go to work and we're going to drop Kai off at your nana's, so you'll be alone." There was no response. "We'll be back later. Goodbye." Again, no response. Giving up, Ash walked away.

* * *

Aya lay upon her bed, her sheets pulled up over her head, so that only her eyes were uncovered. She had spent most of the night in that same position, sleep never finding her. Her mind was in chaos, thousands of contradictory messages rushing past in the blink of an eye. How could her mother do something so heartless? Did she not love her father enough to stay with him? Did she not love her own daughter?

_No, she loves us. I know she does. Then...why did she do that? _

She wiped away the tears that were again assaulting her cheeks. Her face was so raw from the past few hours. Normally whenever she cried, she could turn to her parents to comfort her, to rock her like she was still a baby. Within minutes, they would calm her down, make her forget what had made her so heavy-hearted. But now she had no one to turn to for solace. She had never felt so lonely. She looked out into her room. It seemed so large. So void. Her countless number of cuddly Pokemon could not even detract from the feeling of isolation.

After a moment of commotion from downstairs, she heard the front door close, signalling that the house was now empty apart from her. She pulled her weary body from the mattress, and stood slowly upon her weak legs. She didn't want to leave the comfort of her bed, but her stomach begged for sustenance.

* * *

She sat down upon the sofa, and after a few moments noticed a yellow creature sitting beside her. "Pikachu!" she yelled in surprise, almost spitting out a mouthful of corn flakes. "What are you doing here? Didn't you go to work with dad?"

"(Ash asked me to stay here and look after you)."

"I can look after myself. I'm ten-years-old and am about to start out on my journey. I'm a big kid now," she said a little angrily.

"(Ash and Misty are just worried about you. They're your parents)."

"What parents they are too," she replied sarcastically.

This instantly infuriated Pikachu. "(Aya, don't say that)!"

"Why not? They deserve it after what they have done," she returned.

"(After what they did)?" Pikachu muttered to itself. "( But, Aya, it was Misty who left, not Ash. Why are you angry at him, too?)"

"Because he was the one who told her to keep it a secret," she shouted, clenching her fists in rage. "At least mum wanted to be honest, but he wanted to hide it from me!" Her fierce anger brought tears to her eyes. She ran upstairs, forgetting her hunger. She was too depressed to think of food.

She got into bed again, pulling the sheets over her head entirely. She just wanted to be alone. She didn't want to have to explain her emotions to anyone else when she did not even understand them fully herself. She just knew she had this incredible feeling of loathing within her.

* * *

As the hours passed, she lay in that one position, never moving. Her mind constantly ran through everything that had happened the previous few days, and even before her life had been turned upside-down. How could she not have seen the evidence? She could notice certain instances now in retrospect, however. Times that the adults in her life, her parents, her grandmother, Uncle Brock, had acted strangely when she came into the room, how they would suddenly stop talking, or sometimes change the topic when a conversation came close to the path to the truth.

She looked up at her desk, once more staring at the photograph of her and her parents on their wedding day. How could she not remember the years before that event when her father wasn't in her life? How could she not remember such an absence? And how could she not remember the day he finally came into her life?

As she contemplated her new circumstances, she began to feel her eyes attempt to close. She still felt hurt, but after hours of painful reflection, her anger had settled a little, replaced more and more by a need for proper answers. She wasn't sure whether it was her weariness or her love for her parents that was winning through, but the fatigue caused by the almost sleepless night before meant that she didn't care.

Aya constantly watched the clock in her room. Her parents were normally home at around five, and it was now one minute too. She watched the minute count down, the second hand seeming to go at a snail's pace, and after it passed, she watched the next do the same. Over and over again she followed the clock's movement until the gentle ticking lulled her into a much-needed slumber.

The noise of the front door closing awoke her from the nap. She glanced up again at the clock. It was after six. They had arrived home more than an hour late. She stood and listened at the door for a moment. She heard someone excitedly running up the stairs and into the bedroom next to her. Kai, she guessed. After she was sure the hall was empty, she opened her door and quietly walked towards the small balcony, peering through the spindles of the staircase towards her parents.

They were both smiling at each other, sitting as close as possible upon the sofa. Her father was gently stroking her mother's abdomen with his thumb, the rest of his hand against her side. Why did they look so happy? Last night they had looked as devastated as her.

"At least we've gotten a little piece of good news amongst all this," Ash said to her.

"Yeah," Misty replied, placing her forehead upon his. "Guess we've got another thing we need to tell Aya about."

"We'll tell her when we sort out this situation, okay?" Misty nodded. "I'm gonna go up and see if she will talk to me."

As her father stood, Aya rushed to her room again. What more did they have to tell her? Was there more to this story?

She stood with her back to the door, awaiting her father, unsure what to do. Should she talk to him, or turn him away once more? After a moment, he knocked her door lightly again. "Aya, could we talk?"

She wanted to tell him to leave her alone, to treat him like she had the previous night and morning, but being alone for that day had made her yearn for some company, and she knew she couldn't be couped up in her room for the rest of her life. She had to talk to him eventually, and it would be better to get it out of the way. And at the moment she did not have the full story. She knew that there must be more to the truth. "Okay." She opened the door, allowing her father into her room.

"Thanks, honey," he replied, awkwardly.

The two sat upon her bed, silent for a long while. Ash had no idea how to even start the conversation, though he had planned it all out several times just in case it was required. But as luck would have it, he didn't even need to. Tears began to run down Aya's cheeks, and her body began to shake under the heavy sobs. She almost jumped into her father's arms, crying even harder than she had the previous night. Ash pulled her tightly to him, wrapping his strong arms protectively around his daughter. He didn't realise he could miss her so much in one day.

"Why would she...do something...like this, dad?" she sobbed.

He began to comb her hair with his fingers, rocking her gently. "Because we were very young when your mum became pregnant. It was something we hadn't planned or talked about at great length. She didn't know how I would feel about it, and was afraid that I wouldn't want to keep you."

"How could she think that?"

"She was scared, and fear is a great motivator. Your mum wanted to leave for a little while, to come to terms with what was happening, and planned to come back to me...but the longer she was away, the harder it got for her to return. She thought I would hate her.

"Also, I was getting closer to becoming a Pokemon Master, and your mother didn't want to ruin my career. But when she left, I quit training. "

Aya stared at him in shock. She knew that the only thing in her father's life more important to him than training was his family. She couldn't believe he could have even contemplated giving it up.

"I didn't have the passion to start again until after we got married. Without her, training just seemed so...empty.

"In those three years, I never stopped loving your mum, not for one minute. When we met again, I tried for months to stay angry at her. I told myself I had to punish her for what she did to us. But in the end, my feelings won through." He was smiling by this point, confusing Aya.

"But, how could you forgive her...after all the pain she put you through, even if you did love?"

"Because, I didn't want to live a life without her by my side. If I hadn't forgiven your mum, we would have joint custody of you, I wouldn't have returned to training, and Kai would never have been born. I realised that we could all have such a better life if I just did that one little thing. I wanted us to be a real family. I know it was worth it. I will never forget what she did, but my love for you and her gave me the ability to forgive. But also..." He stopped abruptly.

"What?"

He shook his head heavily. "Your mother has put herself through so much since then. She has punished and tortured herself for what she did, and I feel that she has went through enough." Aya looked up into his face. She had never seen her father so distraught, so worried. "She has paid the price for her crime ten times over, and I want our family to move on past this. I know it will take you a while, and I'm not going to rush you, but I know you will forgive her. You love her, just like I do."

Her father was right. Although it was impossible at the minute to fathom, she knew that her love for her mother would out, and she would forgive her fully, just as her father had done. "I know, but I'm not ready quite yet."

"I understand. Are you at least ready to come down for dinner, or would you like me to bring it up to you?"

She thought for a moment. Could she truly face her mother yet? So soon? No, she wasn't ready for that yet. "Could I eat up here, and...tomorrow maybe...I'll try to eat downstairs?"

"Okay, sweetheart. I'm not going to push you."

"Thanks, dad." She gave him a last hug before he left, promising to be up soon with some dinner.


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

* * *

The next day she was able to pluck up the courage to eat dinner with the rest of her family, but it pained her to sit there with her mother, but not to say a word to her.

She glanced at her, confused as to how weak she looked. To Aya, she had always been a force in her own right, so strong and unwavering when problems arose, but now she looked somewhat helpless. It was as if some impostor had replaced her. Even the sparkle had disappeared from her eyes. Conscious of the fact that she was responsible for her mother's melancholy, she felt a sliver of guilt rise within her. But before it could sway her even slightly, she rejected the emotion with the knowledge that she was innocent of any crime, that her mother had brought this upon herself.

However, despite this bitterness, she desperately missed her mother. She missed her constant encouragement, her warm, tender arms and her soothing words. She even missed her discipline. But she knew that, despite these longings, she was not ready to forgive her and would not give in. Many people had told her that she seemed to have inherited both of her parent's stubbornness, and, though she knew it wasn't always an attractive facet, she was grateful for its help in this situation. If she were a weaker person, she would have crumbled long ago, meaning that the situation would never be fully resolved. She owed it to herself, and to her mother, to wait until her mind was unclouded before she gave up.

She looked over towards her father, whom was absentmindedly pushing his food around his plate with a fork. When he felt her glance upon him, he forced a smile. It meant so much to him to have her back with the rest of the family, despite the fact that she had spent every minute, sans dinner, in her bedroom. Just knowing that fact gave her a little more courage to take the steps she knew would have to come in the following days and weeks.

* * *

For weeks she walked around the school halls in somewhat of a daze, never giving the true reason when her friends and teachers asked about her subdued demeanour. She just tried to continue with her normal life, while trying to deal with the situation that preoccupied her almost every minute of the day.

Over the period, her anger and confusion had been somewhat quelled. The things her father had told her began to filter in a little more, and every day, when she saw her mother, she could see what he meant by her punishing herself. She was so quiet...so unlike herself. It only made her judgemental side ease up and feel deep sympathy for her. Several times that compassion broke through, and she almost ran into her mother's arms, but she still held off.

Aya began to make her way home, absentmindedly tracing her everyday steps through the small town. Paying no attention to her surroundings, she kicked a stray rock down the dirt path, rousing clouds of powder with each boot. After minutes of her play, its appeal abandoning her, she struck the stone with a little more force, knocking it off the road to hit a white picket fence, coming to rest in a perfectly tending patch of grass. Bringing her view upwards, she looked towards the house that the fence bordered. Without conscious thought, she had found herself standing outside her grandmother's house.

Feeling a sense of comfort come over her, she decided to pay a visit. This was a place where she always felt at ease. Her grandmother did everything possible to make sure of that.

She must have known about what had happened in the past, and been able to forgive her mother, just as her father had. The two women were incredibly close. She guessed part of the reason was that her maternal grandmother had died when her mother was just a young child. Nana was more like a mother to Misty than a mother-in-law.

Climbing up the front steps, she knocked upon the painted wooden door. She was greeted by a cheerful 'Coming' from within. She smiled at her nana's soft, caring voice.

The door slowly opened. "Oh, sweetie," her grandmother affectionately uttered as she looked down at her. Aya could tell by the shaken look she wore, poorly hidden behind the usual gleeful smile, that she knew about the revelation. But then Aya already suspected so. Her dad always told his mother everything. Wrapping her tender arms around her, she whispered into her granddaughter's ear, "Are you okay, Aya?"

She relaxed into the embrace, glad for any comfort she could receive. Aya thought for a moment about the question; was she okay? Or was she not? "I'm not sure, nana. I don't think so," she told her, feeling guilty about her confusion.

"Well, there's nothing wrong with that. Come on in and I'll get you some milk and cookies."

She smiled at this. She didn't think she had ever come to her grandmother's house without receiving some kind of treat, something her parents weren't always too happy with. Nana would always spoil both her and Kai without fail.

* * *

Aya tucked into the home-baked cookies and gulped back a generous amount of milk.

She itched to ask the question she had come here to put, but her nervousness overcame her wish. She kept shoving another cookie into her mouth every time she came close. Glancing up towards her grandmother, she studied her pose; sitting upon the edge of the sofa, staring back at her with an anxious smile, seemingly waiting for her enquiry. Finishing the rest of her treat, she forced herself to say something, but only finding one solitary word escaping. "Nana?"

"Yes, sweetie," Delia replied.

Looking down once more, she took a deep breath before continuing. "You've forgiven mum for what she did, haven't you?"

"Of course I have," she replied softly.

"But...why? I mean, what she did was horrible. She hurt you and dad so much," she found herself almost shouting, unable to control her words. Pacing her breathing, trying to calm herself, she continued. "How did you forgive her?"

Delia stood, making her way to her granddaughter's side, sitting on the edge of the chair. She placed her arm around her shoulder, regarding her with a sympathetic aspect. "Aya, I forgave her because your dad did. He has been affected more than anyone else by this, went through so much. I felt that if he could find it in his heart to accept her mistake, I knew that I should do the same. And, when I did, I found that it wasn't really that hard. Seeing you and your parents together as a real family made me realise that both your father and I had made the right decision. If we didn't, life wouldn't be as good as it is now."

"Dad said something similar. And...and I really hate seeing mum this way. I want to be able to forgive her, but I can't do that until I'm ready."

"I know. And you shouldn't. You need to be true to yourself."

Aya nodded. "I feel really bad about hurting her, but I can't do anything else yet." She looked up towards the clock upon the mantelpiece. It was half four already. "I better go, nana, so that I'm home before mum and dad get back from work." She stood and made her way to the front door.

Delia followed her. "Okay, dear. I'll see you in a few days." She pulled her granddaughter into another embrace. "You know you can come over here anytime you need to, right?"

Aya smiled. "Yeah, thanks, nana. Bye bye."

"Bye, sweetie."

* * *

Aya turned the page of her calendar, setting her eyes upon the red circle that marked the 23rd. Three weeks. Only three weeks until she was due to leave home and start her journey. Time was being to run out, draining away like grains of sand.

If she left without this situation being resolved, what would that mean for her and her mother's relationship? She couldn't even contemplate the fact that they could go on like this for the rest of their lives. She couldn't let that happen. She wouldn't let it happen!

She was beginning to understand her father's and grandmother's words more as each day passed. The events still reigned heavily within her, and she knew that they would never move from her mind, but the more she thought about them, the more she could understand the reasons for her mother's crime and see the effects of the punishment she had wrought upon herself. She had suffered too much, and so had Aya herself.

She didn't want it to go on like this anymore. She was the only one who had the power to restore the equilibrium again, and that was what she wanted. She wanted her family to be the way it had been a month before. Not perfect. Not the kind of family you see in dodgy sitcoms where nothing bad ever happens. No, she wanted HER family back. The mother who had a short temper and couldn't cook; the father who could often be a little slow; the little brother who always cried too much for her liking; her, the daughter who was often way too stubborn for her own good, but who all loved one another without a thought. That was her family, the family she had withdrawn herself from for so long. The one she would soon be leaving.

* * *

Aya slowly walked into the kitchen, trying to keep her movements silent.

Her parents sat at the table on the other side of the room, her father gripping her mother's hand firmly but affectionately within his own. He was looking into her eyes with such passion and loyalty, the same look Aya had seen many times before. It was clearly evident he was still in love with her, no matter what she had done. Any anger, hate or revulsion had evaporated, giving way to such a pure devotion.

She remembered what her grandmother had told her. She had been right. If he, the one who had been wronged the most, could forgive her, then she could as well. It had just taken time, just as it had for him.

Feeling a tear roll over her lower eyelid and onto her cheek, she softly uttered one word. "Mummy?"

Misty drew her focus away from Ash, turning to regard her daughter, who still stood by the door. "Aya?" she asked unsurely, confused as to what emotion the muffled word was expressed with.

"Mummy," Aya said once more, almost running across the tiled floor and into her mother's open arms. She hugged her with all her strength, crying heavily into her shoulder, just happy to be back within her embrace.

Misty rocked her gently for a moment, her own tears now unrestrained, then guided her to one of the chairs next to her, releasing the embrace and looking into her daughter's eyes. "I'm so sorry, honey," Misty told her as she stroked her fingers through her daughter's dark hair. "I'm so sorry for doing this to you. I wish I could take it back, go back ten years and try to push away my fear...but, no matter how much I wish, I know it's impossible. All I can do is promise to never hurt you again."

"I know, mum. And I know you couldn't do something like that again." She grabbed Misty's hand and brought it down to caress her cheek. She had missed her presence for so long. "I forgive you," she whispered.

"You do?" Misty pleased, unsure. This seemed to good to be true.

"Of course. I love you, mum."

"I love you too, sweetie."

Ash watched the two, while rubbing Aya's back. He felt the weight lift from his shoulders, and his own heartstrings pull.

After a few moments, Misty began, "Aya?"

"Yeah, mummy?"

"Your dad and I have a little surprise for you."

A surprise? Was this the other thing they had to tell her, what they had been discussing over a month ago, the other secret they needed to tell her? "What?" she asked, smiling through gleeful tears, knowing that, from the expressions her parents wore, this wasn't going to be the bad news she had previously expected.

Ash put his arms around Misty, affectionately rubbing his cheek against hers. "You're going to have another little brother or sister," he excitedly announced.

Aya turned to her mother, her mouth wide open with surprise. "You're pregnant again?"

Misty nodded. "Over three months now."

"That's...that's so great," she almost shouted with exhilaration, jumping into her mother's arms once more. She pulled back a little and touched her stomach. It was barely noticeable, and would still be invisible to the eye, but she could definitely feel a slight difference. "Were you planning on having another baby?"

"Yeah," Ash started. "We'd been trying for a couple of months. Luckily it took a lot less time than it did with Kai."

Aya felt a tinge of sadness build within her at the memory, and could see a similar reaction upon her parents. She wasn't sure how long exactly it had taken for them to conceive Kai, but she knew it had been a number of years. Also, there had been that incident that until recently Aya hadn't understood. About a year before her little brother's birth, her mother had a suffered a severe miscarriage nearly four months into a previous pregnancy. She had remained in the hospital for over a week recovering.

"You're the first person we've told," Misty informed. "We didn't want anyone to know before you...and we wanted to wait until I was a little into the pregnancy...just...in case."

Aya nodded, stood from the chair and began eagerly pacing the kitchen. "Yes! This is great. I hope it's a little girl. I really wanna have a sister. I love Kai, but dealing with two brothers...that would be hard. Have you thought of any names yet? I like Briana, Rika, Yoko...ah, there are so many other ones I can't remember at the minute. Oh no, I'm going to be away when the baby is born. I don't wanna miss out. And I need to be there in case you pass out again, dad."

Ash awkwardly scratched the back of his head, embarrassed by the recollection of Kai's birth. Misty just laughed.

"Maybe I can put off leaving on my journey for a little while. Maybe train around here, catch all the Pokemon that live between Pallet and Viridian before heading off. That means I could get my Pokemon up to really high levels before I battle for my first badge. We could all go on little trips and you guys could help me with my training and-"

Ash and Misty watched as their daughter rambled on, enchanted by the change in her personality. This was the true Aya; impulsive, loud, hyper but inherently adorable.

Ash pulled Misty closer to him, giving her the most passionate kiss he could, resting his hand upon her barely swollen stomach. He hadn't seen her smile like this in so long. He couldn't have coped without seeing it once more.

While Aya continued on with her spiel, she admired her parents from the corner of her eye. Their love was so strong that they could get through anything, and the same was true for the whole of their family.

Things were going to be okay. She was sure of it.

* * *

_Awww, the family are all back together. I know I kinda skipped by a few weeks, but I felt it was needed. Aya wasn't going to forgive right away, but it would become pretty boring if I added more chapters to go over that time as I would just be elaborating over the same topics.  
  
Just the epilogue to come, and that will be up next week!_

_Explaination for the female names Aya comes up with? 'Briana' after my great mate (pen-name Anysia) who has really, really helped me keep my writing going so well lately. I felt I had to do something to show how much you mean to me, girl :) . You're amazing, Bri!!! 'Rika' is after Rika Matsumoto (Ash's/Satoshi's voice actor in the Japanese version of Pokemon, and an absolutely wonderful singer) and 'Yoko' after Yoko Kanno (my fave anime composer who has worked on such greats as 'Cowboy Bebop' and 'Escaflowne'). I was listening to a few songs sung/composed by them when writing this part of the fic._

_Please R&R, and thanks for all the reviews!_


	7. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

* * *

'And now I'm here, about to take the first step of the rest of my life.

'Yesterday I did it. I defeated my father in battle! I am the new Master! In a matter of hours I will be sworn in.

'My hands are trembling at the moment. I'm surprised that my handwriting is still legible, haha. I'm so nervous, more nervous than I was about the final battle even! I know how bizarre that sounds. Believe me, I don't even understand it myself.

'Everything is great now in our family. It took a little while, but I finally realised how hard it must have been for my mother, and how she didn't want to hurt me or my father, but that fear can make you do things you wouldn't even normally contemplate. We are both as close as ever, closer than most mothers and daughters. I guess one of the reasons for that is that we don't get to see each other that often.

'I really miss everyone while I'm away. I've missed a great deal of Kai and Bri growing up. He is now eleven and she seven, and both as obsessed about Pokemon as our parents and me. I guess that's my only regret about becoming a Pokemon trainer, being away from the ones I love. I'm just glad I held off and began my training at home. I couldn't allow myself to miss the birth of my little sister.

'It's been a hard eight years travelling. There have been so many troubles along the way, and more than once my life has been in danger, but I've been able to get through. I've made so many friends and allies along the way, human and Pokemon alike. It's been just as my parent's told me it would be, and I wouldn't give it up for anything.'

"Aya, are you nearly ready?" She heard her mother call into her hotel room. "It's almost time."

"I'll be there in ten, mum," Aya replied, before turning her attention back to her journal.

'Well, it looks like I'm going to have to bring this entry to an end. I have to leave for the stadium soon to welcome my future. Say goodbye to Pokemon trainer Aya Ketchum and hello to the Pokemon Master.

'But then my victory is tinged with a touch of melancholy. I must take the title from my dad, the one who has been my icon from the day I first saw him battle. I have brought an end to his twelve year reign, but, as he told me;

_"It is better to lose to someone you love rather than to someone you don't know, 'cause then you can be happy for them instead of feeling sorry for yourself." _

'I guess he is right, but it still doesn't prevent me from feeling guilty.

'It does feel a lot better putting this stuff all down on paper. Kinda helps me sort out any of the last shreds of dark emotion I have about the whole situation. Now I feel ready to walk out upon that stage and accept the position I have fought for for so many years.

'Goodbye to this journal, but I promise, another one will not be far behind.

'Love, Aya Ketchum, Pokemon Master.'

Aya closed her diary, turning the key in the lock. She placed her hand upon the thick book, sighing. It was sad to bring it to an end, but everything has change.

Standing, she walked over to the full-length mirror and contemplated her form. She was as tall as her mother, and many even said more beautiful. Her once short raven hair had grown to the midpoint of her back, and held itself in stark contrast to her alabaster skin. But everyone told her that her eyes were her most beautiful physical facet, blue-green iris' behind Asian lids. She always loved the fact she looked exotic, and it helped her when it came to the opposite sex, though she had never had a full-time boyfriend. But then, when you travelled, you didn't get much of a chance for romance.

She quickly abandoned her jeans and discarded her top, before attempting to arrange the purple kimono upon her frame. Fastening the sash around her waist, slipping on her white socks and sandals, she studied herself once more. She had already fixed her makeup before she had sat down at the journal, so she was now ready to leave.

"Wish me luck," she whispered, before continuing to the door. Taking a deep breath, she turned the handle.

* * *

Aya looked around the ancient stadium. This was the place where all the battles were held for potential Masters and where, if they won, they were sworn in. She had defeated her father the previous day upon the battlefield below, and now she was ascending the steps to the highest point of the colosseum, to where he stood, Pikachu upon his shoulder, the Elite Four by his side.

The stadium was crowded with gym leaders from many regions, all of whom she had defeated in her eight year career. There was also a long line of fans and TV reporters recording the event, a fact that just added to her nervousness.

She turned around to look at the four people who stood at the bottom of the staircase. Her mother, nana, Kai and little Bri gazed back, proud smiles upon their faces. She returned the grin, feeling some of her apprehension drain away.

She continued up the timeworn stone steps towards her father, her treads the only sound in the entire amphitheater. After a few more agonizing paces, she reached the end of her journey.

Ash gave her a heartwarming smile as she approached. She kneeled before him, gazing up at the man who had raised her.

Ash took his eyes from his daughter and regarded the crowd. "Today, one Master must step down and allow another to succeed him, to hand down the title to another generation, and create a new legend."

He brought his attention back to the teenager, gazing deep into her bright eyes. "Aya, from now until the day you are defeated in battle, you will be the leader of all trainers out there; their teacher, their hero and their idol." He looked down upon his own kimono, unpinning the symbol of the Supreme Master, before leaning down to attach the badge to the fabric of hers.

"I give you Aya Ketchum, Supreme Pokemon Master." The crowd broke into a ruckus at the announcement, hundreds or thousands of clapping hands and cheers producing an almost overwhelming din.

She arose from her position and bowed to her father, unsure of how to treat him in such a formal situation. Ash didn't seem to care though. Sacred ceremony or not, he enveloped her with his arms. She couldn't help but return the tight embrace.

"I'm so proud of you, Aya," he spoke into her ear, his voice full of emotion. "Everyone is."

She felt a few tears fall, sinking into her father's clothes. "Thanks, dad." After a moment, she felt a hand settle upon her back. Instantly recognising the touch, she pulled herself from him and gave her mother a hug with as much intensity.

Aya felt ready now. Her new life had just begun and she knew she would be able to make the best of it. As long as she had those that she loved by her side, she could do anything.

* * *

_Well, there ya go. All finished. How was the ending? How was the fic all together?_

_I've got a lot more work done upon 'Resolutions', the sequel to 'Let Love Be Your Energy', so I'll hopefully have it up in a few months (though progress has been slowing due to damned writer's block!). _

_Thanks for everyone's reviews for this fic. They have made this fic well worth it to write to know that so many people enjoyed it!!!  
  
Special thanks and love to Anysia, for just being such a great mate and keeping me motivated with your reassuring comments and amazing writing (as well as the music recommendations. Can't stop listening to Do As Infinity!!!), and to KazOhki for the most insane reviews I've read. God, girl, you always make me laugh so much!  
  
_


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